Artwork by Punny Pixels

Dreams love the use of puns and plays on words, as well as visually depicting both puns and verbal expressions. When listening to a dream I always have my radar up for any type of pun or imagery that might indicate another layer of meaning. Following are some examples.
A woman dreamed she was kissing a man, and much as she wanted it to be a good kiss his upper was sticking out in such a strange way that it just would not move. This image had her stumped and took some time to decipher. Eventually she said “why would his upper lip be so stiff?” and that’s when the light bulb went off! If you asked this dreamer what it meant to have a ‘stiff upper lip’, she might not have been able to tell you with her conscious mind as this was not a saying she used. However, when we explored the standard meanings of the phrase, it clicked. It turns out the person she was attempting to connect with was experiencing hurt feelings, yet trying to hide them. In this case it was not a romantic partnership, as kissing can be a symbol for connection of any kind. This was an employee she was interacting with on a work project, and her subconscious mind had clearly picked up that he was trying very hard not to show his hurt feelings regarding constructive feedback she had recently given him on how to improve his work. Even though consciously she was not sure she knew what the expression ‘stiff upper lip’ meant, her subconscious mind knew very well and found a visual way to illustrate this verbal saying. She was then able to show some compassion for her colleague and give him as much positive feedback as possible, in addition to ways to improve when necessary. The dream revealed emotional dynamics that were going on under the surface, in a way that allowed her to repair and improve their professional relationship going forward.
A man applied to a job for which he was exceptionally well qualified. He later found out that a friend of the boss – who was not as well qualified – was hired instead. That night the man had a dream that his friend Rob got the job instead of him. Since his friend Rob did not actually apply for the job or work in the same field in waking life, I asked the dreamer if he felt ‘robbed’ because he did not get the job. He said “Absolutely yes!” It’s always interesting to look at the names of people and things to see if they might double as words with another meaning. They don’t have to be spelled the same, as the non-linear mind does not care about logical things like spelling. For example, names of people such as: Mark, Jean, Melody, Bill, Rusty, Crystal, June, Hunter, and Patience can hold double meaning. Names of inanimate objects, and even car models such as Triumph, Fury, Swinger, and Dart can also hold another layer of significance.
A single woman who was looking for love had a dream she was checking the mail. Based on other factors in the dream, I asked her if it was possible she was ‘checking the male’ population around her, as in checking them out. It fit with the rest of the dream and what was relevant for her, and we had a good laugh.
A man found out I work with dreams and casually told me he had a dream that he was peeing on his neighbor. Since this was not a private session I just asked him quickly “Well, are you ‘pissed’ at him?” He laughed and said “YES!”
Now here is some fun for you. Look at the illustrations below…can you decipher the visual puns that are depicted? To find the answers, scroll to the bottom of the article, below my bio.

Artwork by Kathleen Kowal

Artwork by Kathleen Kowal

Artwork by Punny Pixels 

Artwork by Punny Pixels

Artwork by Punny Pixels

Artwork by Punny Pixels

Much thanks to Eunice Ng and Nandini Trivedi of Punny Pixels (check them out on Instagram!), and Kathleen Kowall Design and Illustration (check her out on Facebook!) for giving permission to use their fun and clever artwork to illustrate this article!

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Mimi Pettibone is the creator of the ‘Enchanted Art Oracle Cards’, and offers private consultations in dream interpretation and personal growth work focused on relationships, communication, and authentic life path. She works in person in Seattle, WA as well as by phone. Her background includes psychology, relationships & communication, spirituality, dreams, intuition, and consciousness. Mimi is also a monthly dream columnist for the New Spirit Journal 

Answer Key to Visual Puns:

Snail Mail

Grate (Great) Opportunity

Couch Potato

Brain Storm

Emotional Baggage

Negative Space

Ask The Dream Detective: from Mimi’s Dream Column for the New Spirit Journal

A 52-year-old woman has the following recurring dream:

“I have recurring dreams that I am back in school and about to take a test, when suddenly I realize that I have not studied, nor did I ever attend the class! I go into a panic. In other versions of the dream, I can’t find the classroom or registration office, can’t open my locker, or I don’t have enough credits to graduate. Please help me understand these dreams!”

“Back in school” dreams, where we are unprepared, lost, or otherwise challenged, are some of the most common dreams experienced. They usually occur when we are feeling tested in some area of life. Feelings of inadequacy and incompetency prevail, and are usually reflective of a lack of confidence in our selves at the time of the dream, in regards to the area of life that the dream is about. Sometimes this dream theme comes up when we actually are unprepared for something, as a reminder that a little preparation could do us some good. However, more frequently they occur for the type of person who would never let themselves be caught unprepared. This type of person may put too much pressure on themselves to perform, especially for other people. Perfectionist and overachiever tendencies may be at the emotional root of this type of dream.

Thoughts such as “what will others think?”, “am I good enough?”, and “will I live up to their standards?” may run through this person’s mind. “Will I make the grade?” is a pun not to be overlooked, as dreams love to use puns and plays on words. These are the same types of thoughts that often occur when we first experience test taking in school. Those early experiences form an emotional imprint, which comes up later in life when we experience the original feelings in different situations. The dreaming mind brings up the original imprint as a template (i.e. test taking) associated to the feeling, and uses it to convey the dream story and show us how we truly feeling about things, even though we may not have been in school for many years.

Not being able to access the locker may have to do with feelings of being cut off from an essential part of your self. In the dream, other people seem to be opening their lockers with ease, “so why can’t I open mine?” a dreamer may ask. This theme comes up when a person feels they have difficulty accessing something important and vital to themselves.

Being lost on campus often manifests in dreams when we feel like we have lost our way in life. “Where is it that I am going?” we may ask, “what direction do I want to take in my life right now?” Getting in touch with our authentic self, and on track with our life purpose, can help to clarify who we truly are and where we really want to go.

In some versions of the school dreams a person may find them selves naked in school. This is usually symbolic of feeling vulnerable and exposed, though it is always important to check in with the dreamer how they were feeling in the dream to get to the true essence of its meaning.

Dreams of not having enough credits to graduate often come up when we are not giving our selves enough credit for what we have accomplished.

Through a dream interpretation session, the woman who had the recurring school dreams realized that her perfectionist tendencies at work were getting in the way of her self-esteem. While a high level of standards had brought her far along the career path, regardless of how well a job was done she always worried if her work, and her self, were good enough. Thoughts of whether or not she pleased her boss, did her co-workers approve, could she have done better or more, and similar themes of self-doubt ran through her mind.

When we separated out feelings from facts, it turned out she had achieved a very high level of professional accomplishment. The only thing that didn’t measure up was her self-esteem and self talk. Learning to give herself more “credit” for her accomplishments was part of her dream homework.

We also looked at how to use discernment for when holding high standards would be useful and relevant, versus when to ease up a little and adopt the mantra of “good enough.” Another tool we worked with was a visualization technique where she would imagine being able to open the locker with ease, and find out what treasures were stored inside for her. This helped her to “open the door” and connect with what was truly important to her, creating easier access to, and not feeling so cut off from, the deeper part of her authentic herself.

Dream: ‘The House Break-In’

A 42 year old man had the following dream:

“I recently had a dream that my house was being broken in to. I was in the kitchen, my wife and kids were in different rooms of the house. I heard a noise and realized someone had broken into our house. I moved toward the invader and started to tackle, when I suddenly realized the intruder was a woman. I woke up very confused.”

Dreaming of a home invasion is a common theme. While houses or homes can represent different things in dreams, within the context of this theme the home is usually a metaphor for our private life. The invasion of the home is symbolic of feeling like our private life is being ‘invaded’ or threatened by an outside force. When we look at who or what is doing the invading, we have a clue in the direction of what energy is violating the work-home boundary. For example, if someone dreamed that their boss broke into their house, it would be very likely that matters related to the person’s job were encroaching upon their personal life. Working too many hours, thoughts of job related stress, or even working at home – yet feeling cut off from the family or a personal life – could all be triggers for this type of dream, resulting in the symbol of a work related character (the boss in this example) becoming the perpetrator.

Typically we think of home invaders as men, so this dreamer was particularly surprised by the fact that the intruder was a woman. By working with the dreamer and asking him some questions about what the symbolism represented to him, he made the connection to the idea that he had been considering having an extra marital affair. Our dreaming mind cares intensely about our personal relationship, love, and our connections with others. His takeaway from the dream was that while the temptation of an affair appealed to his libido, there was a deeper part of his psyche that perceived the threat to his family life that it would create. It was this part of his psyche that created a message to send him in the form of this dream.

We also looked at the symbolism of the dreamer being in the kitchen, and the fact that the rest of his family members were each in different rooms of the house. To him this was symbolic of how he was not only feeling disconnected from his wife and children, but that they were all disconnecting from each other in waking life. This reflection caused him great sadness, as it had not always been that way and he longed for the connection they used to feel together. He contemplated that perhaps this was the reason he was seeking affection elsewhere. By gaining the conscious awareness of what his subconscious mind was showing him via this dream, he decided not to have the affair. He decided instead to devote his energy to reconnecting with his family, and finding ways to bring them together emotionally and physically by spending more time together.

Somehow if a co-worker had given this dreamer the same advice, it likely would not have landed in the same way as when it came from his own psyche. The dreamer was profoundly moved by the message he received from his own mind. Such is the magic of working with dreams.

Tomorrow morning from 9-10am I will be a guest on the Marie Manucheri show, talking about dreams! Call in with your dreams & questions 425-373-5527 and tune in to KKNW 1150AM or listen online:

http://1150kknw.com/show/marie-manuchehri-show/

If you miss the show, you can catch it in the archives:

http://www.energyintuitive.com/radio/podcast/

or on my ‘Media’ page here: https://www.thedreamdetective.com/dream-detective-interviews/

Happy Dreaming!

Dreams are a fascinating source of information that can help us better understand our selves, our lives and our relationships. Come learn how to understand the meaning of your night time dreams with Seattle dream expert Mimi Pettibone.

$15, pre-register by calling East West Bookshop at 206-523-3726 or sign up at the event. Participants will receive a $2 coupon to use in the store that night.

PARKING: Enter from 12th Ave NE, take the ramp up to the parking lot. The new store location is above Whole Foods & next to Bartells on the upper level.

A woman has the following dream:

“I am in an elevator, and it’s going down. A man is in the elevator with me. He is invisible, but I can sense him. He grabs my foot and flips me onto my back. He starts sucking on my toe, and as he does my foot disappears into thin air. He continues to suck, and now my leg gradually disappears. It’s like he is an invisible vampire, sucking my blood, and as my blood disappears, so do I. Although I see this and I am aware of what’s happening, I do not stop him.”

Vampires in dreams can represent people or situations that are sucking the life force right out of us. While the goal of a fictional vampire is to harvest blood from their victim, energy vampires (aka emotional vampires) are seeking our life energy.
In this dream the metaphor of ‘going down’ can hold double meaning both sexually, and it can represent a situation that is ‘going down’ (or going poorly). The actions of the man flipping her on her back, and sucking, could also be interpreted as sexual. At the same time, he is literally sucking her into non-existence! She is disappearing right in front of her own eyes, and he is causing this to happen. Through working with the dream it was confirmed that the man was symbolic of someone who was acting as emotional vampire in her life. This woman was in a very unhealthy sexual relationship with a man who was ‘sucking the life’ out of her. While part of her was aware of this, another part of her chose to continue seeing him and be in the relationship.
In working with this dream, the part that stood out to her the most was the ending where she was aware of what was happening yet she did not stop him. She came to the realization that not only was he draining her energy, but she felt like she was losing herself and her identity in the process  – i.e. she was ‘disappearing’! This was so concerning to the dreamer, and the dream provided such a clear outline, that she chose to end the relationship immediately.
It is common in vampire dreams to experience some kind of ambivalence, such as wanting to help the person, even liking them in some way, but also knowing they are bad for us and wanting to get away from them. This can be reflective of an addictive type of relationship. It is also reflective of how it can feel to be around someone who is an emotional vampire. They can lure us in with flattery, seduction, gifts or a sense of being needed. Then they switch, and go in for the ‘kill”; aka the feeding process of draining someone else’s life force to add to their own.
Some dreams that could show up when dealing with emotional vampires are: dreams of actual vampires, dreams of blood loss, and dreams of losing parts of the body. Emotional wounds often show up as physical wounds to the body in dreams. Someone attacking us emotionally during waking life may show up as someone attacking us physically in the dream state.
Other dreams that could show up when someone is psychically draining or invading a person could be: dreams of a home invasion, losing a purse, being stalked, or someone trying to kill us. I say this with caution as any of these dreams could also be about many other things!  When working with dreams it is always important to check with the dreamer to see what personal meanings and associations they hold, what is going on in their life, and what the symbols and metaphors mean to them. That said, it is not uncommon for nightmares to happen when we re being energetically drained or manipulated by someone. Our dreaming mind will always call attention to the care of the soul that is needed for a healthy life.
While some symbols hold a common meaning, such as vampires being negative creatures who suck the life out of us, they can also vary depending on the dreamer and the dream. Here is an example of another vampire dream, where the vampires actually save the day. The dreamer titled this one ‘Magical Vampires’:

“I am at a big party. The hosts are playing some kind of a game with the guests, unbeknownst to the guests. The game entails the host dancing with a guest, leading them backwards toward a window, pretending to ‘dip’ them, but them purposefully dropping them out the window where they fall to their death.
Now the hosts are doing it with 3 people at a time. I am observing the whole thing in horror. However, the next 3 ‘victims’ are actually magical vampires in disguise! When the hosts go to drop them out the window, the vampires float down the side of the building, only to return flying in the air like some kind of power trio. They are very magical and powerful and it is clear that they are going to use their powers to stop the evil people from killing any more.”

This dream shows the vampires in a role of ‘saving the day’ with their magical powers. Mere humans could not have pulled of such a feat! In this story, the energy the vampires hold is life affirming. Through working with the dream we realized that the vampires represented part of the dreamer that she did not realize existed. She was dealing with some very toxic people, and was finding her own power and ways to respond in the situation that felt so good it was akin to having ‘magical powers’.
I give this dream as an example to never assume, always check with the dreamer. Also look at the story line, plot, actions and feelings. The tones of the two dreams are entirely different, giving the first major clue as to the nature of what is going on with the dreamer.
In the next article we will look at types of energy vampires, and tips for how to deal with them.

Mimi Pettibone is a Certified Transactional Analysis Practitioner who specializes in dream interpretation, relationships and communication skills. She offers classes and consultations in Seattle, WA and offers private consultations by phone as well. Mimi host bi-monthly telephone dream groups, where members engage in a group process of dream exploration. To join the telephone dream group, go to www.meetup.com/DreamGroup and click ‘join’ to receive calendar updates of upcoming groups and events and to RSVP.
Happy dreaming!

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

at East West Bookshop in Seattle

Dreams of Love and Romance

7-8:30 pm $15

Register Now!

Many of our night time dreams have to do with love and romance. But when we translate their meaning to waking life understanding, they may have everything (or nothing!) to do with our relationships to other people. This workshop will explore the most common dream themes we have regarding love, lust, relationships, sexuality, romance, and our connectedness to ourselves and others. You will learn the universal meanings of these dream themes, as well as how to understand what the dreams mean for you, specifically. We will also look at how our dreams can help us with our relationships, whether or not the dreams appear to be about them. Presented by MIMI PETTIBONE

 http://eastwestbookshop.com/events/7274